Bioactive and degradable composite microcarriers for 3-D bone tissue engineering in simulated microgravity

摘要

Microcarriers currently used in cell and tissue cultures in microgravity environment simulated by rotating-wall bioreactors are primarily biocompatible polymers. For bone cell cultures and tissue formation, bioactive glasses and ceramics have unique advantages, such as bone bonding ability and stimulation of bone cell functions. However, they are difficult to be processed into spherical microcarriers and have not been used in simulated microgravity environment until recently. In this study, we developed composite microspheres by incorporating bioactive glasses and ceramics into a polymer microsphere to combine the osteoconductivity of bioactive glasses and ceramics with the ease of polymer processing. In addition, the wide range of mechanical and biological properties of polymer offers the possibility of making composite microspheres with various desired properties, such as biodegradation.